UK patients warn of compulsive addictions and worsening symptoms from restless-legs drugs
Patients with restless legs syndrome say dopamine-agonist medicines have triggered compulsive eating, shopping and gambling, while also worsening their leg symptoms.
Dorothy Moate, a retired teaching assistant, began taking pramipexole for restless legs syndrome and soon developed uncontrollable cravings for food and clothing, gaining over 10 stone and filling her home with shoes. She also suffered severe anxiety during tapering attempts, a condition now described as dopamine-agonist withdrawal syndrome. Legal actions, such as Philip Stevens’ £70,000 payout, illustrate growing concerns that patients are not warned about impulse-control side effects, which affect 6-17% of RLS sufferers and one in six Parkinson’s patients.
NHS England data show prescriptions for the three main dopamine agonists rose to 1.37 million in 2025, prompting the MHRA to reclassify the risk from “uncommon” to “common.” NICE has shifted first-line treatment toward gabapentinoids, though those drugs carry their own risks. Campaign groups like the Dopamine Agonist Action Group and professional bodies are urging better counselling and monitoring of patients.
Why it matters
The story highlights hidden dangers of widely prescribed restless-legs drugs and the need for better patient warnings.
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